My supplements are similar to my training - I always commit to being a better version of myself.
Ronnie Coleman
Bodybuilding is about building your body. Whether you do it to maintain your fitness levels, climb Everest, run the marathon, or be a competitive bodybuilder is up to you.
Progress takes time and discipline.
I quit working in the police force full time only after I won my third Mr. Olympia.
What I've always tried to do is pick short term goals.
Competitive bodybuilding is a niche sport, but bodybuilding is for everybody.
I eat chicken and rice, steak, and baked potato. That's it.
The gym is one of the few places where I can just be myself without any hindrances and inhibitions.
I train heavy and hard every workout. That's the only way I knew. I know it was the key to my success.
Father Time and injuries are tough adversaries.
I endorsed supplements for about 15-20 years and made a lot of people a lot of money, so I figured I should do my own line and make my own money.
I eat healthy year round.
I take about 12 weeks to get ready for a show. But I train all year round.
Nutrition is 150 per cent of the bodybuilding formula. It's that important.
You get used to a certain thing, and you don't want to change. Because that's what's worked for you.
Where I'm from, Bastrop, Louisiana, you played football, basketball, and baseball; you ran track - and that was about it.
Australia is my favorite place to visit. The fans are great, and the sport of bodybuilding is huge.
I work out every body part twice a week, and that is what helps me stay in shape.
When I graduated from college, I tried my hardest to get a job at an accounting firm, and it just wasn't meant to be. I ended up delivering pizzas and newspapers. I knew my life was cracked up to be a little more.
I've had back problems basically my whole career.
I am not a trainer, hence I cannot advise youngsters on the use of supplements or the way to build their bodies. But I can tell them one thing that I did - find a good, honest trainer.
I have fans from every level of the fitness world, whether it's the elite competitor or just someone living a healthy lifestyle, and it's been my goal since day one to make sure that my brand has something to offer everyone.
I've always been a big guy - I was much larger and stronger than my peers when I was 13 years old.
No dessert. I don't do dessert.
Knowledge is the real power.
Because the Arnold Classic is such a big show, a guy who hasn't been getting a lot of recognition all of a sudden does that show and arrives in good condition and is able to take out some of the top guys, it then puts him up there in the running for the Olympia title. So he can get more recognition that way.
The treatment from the Arnold Classic to the Olympia is, of course, a little bit different, but overall the quality of the shows and the way they are put on... I think they are the same. It's just that the Olympia has been around for so long, and it is considered the Super Bowl of bodybuilding.
It's hard to be at your best and to know exactly what is your best at all times because even when you do see yourself, you think you could be better, and you often feel that there is something you could have done differently.
I don't know how well-known it is, but I had back surgery in '07, and it took about two years to recover.
It is a lot of pressure to prepare for the Mr. Olympia.
Mostly, I was into powerlifting when I was in high school. And I just continued to train the same way I was taught - to powerlift. Once I started doing bodybuilding, there were no real differences, just different exercises. A different way of training with more repetitions, but it was still the same lifting of very heavy weights to get stronger.
I was always trying to stay one to two steps ahead of the game.
You have to train the best way that is suited to you, a way that will allow you to progress.
I'm always trying to improve on my overall package. Just try to get a little bit harder and maintain the same muscle quality.
For the most part, I would say that I have always had a great love for the sport, just doing what I do. I think my success could be greatly attributed to that. I don't look at it like it's a job or anything like that. Its more like a hobby, something I have fun doing.
I learned the ins and outs of the supplements business as a bodybuilder. I'd worked with some of the companies, and I knew a lot about the products. Some of them worked OK, and some of them didn't. I wanted all of them to work, not just for me, but for other people, too.
As my athletic career was coming to an end in 2007, I asked myself, do I want to work for somebody, or go out and make a difference?
I probably get in, like, five meals a day; every now and then, I get six.
Time between sets should be short and just long enough so that you are sufficiently recovered to hit the next set hard.
It seems that, every day, a new brand is popping up, and everyone has become an expert on supplements and training. Hey, there's a lot of great brands and products out there, but there are also those just looking to grab a piece of the money pie.
It's just really cool to see high profile trainers, athletes, and celebs using my products and loving them.
I'll be a diehard bodybuilder until my last breath, but I want my brand and the movement we are creating to touch all aspect of the fitness community.
I hate dieting.
There are times I have to diet 16 weeks at a go, and I had to miss out on stuff I love, like burgers and birthday parties.
I've been in pain for so long now I'm just used to it.
I'm a body builder, so we do a lot of stuff on repetition.
Get proper training right from the beginning. It prevents injuries and avoids wasting your time with misdirected effort, which is what most people generally don't understand. Give it your all from day one.
Perfecting your form and technique at early stages will go a long way. Don't compromise on the big lifts - deadlifts, squats, and bench-presses.
Even at the age of 12, I knew I had to become a bodybuilder. I don't know why or how, but I just knew.
